A Weekend at Songshan: Discover Red Dot Design

MK
2 hours ago
4 min read

If you're looking for something different to do in Taipei this weekend, skip the shopping malls for a few hours and head to **Songshan Cultural and Creative Park.

Located in the heart of Taipei, Songshan is one of those places where you can easily spend half a day without really planning anything.

You might come for an exhibition, stop for coffee, browse a design shop, walk through the historic buildings — and suddenly realize you've been there for hours.

And for design lovers, there's another reason to visit: **Red Dot award-winning designs are being showcased here.

What Is the Red Dot Design Award?

You've probably seen the small red circular logo on products before.

It simply says:

**Red Dot**

But behind that little symbol is one of the world's best-known international design competitions.

Originating in Germany, the **Red Dot Design Award** recognizes products and concepts that demonstrate outstanding design quality.

Winning isn't simply about making something beautiful.

**That seemingly simple little red dot actually represents the accumulation of countless design details.**

Good industrial design also has to consider how a product works, how people interact with it, how it feels in everyday use, and whether the design actually solves a problem.

That's why the Red Dot label has become internationally recognized in industries ranging from electronics and furniture to kitchenware and transportation.

**Taiwan Has Quietly Become a Design Powerhouse**

Taiwan is famous around the world for semiconductors, computers and electronics.

But there's another side of Taiwan's manufacturing industry that international visitors sometimes overlook: **Design**

Taiwanese companies have spent decades manufacturing products for the world. Increasingly, they are also developing their own products, identities and design languages.

A design exhibition therefore tells another side of Taiwan's story. Instead of looking only at what Taiwan manufactures, you begin to see **how Taiwan thinks about products**.

And that makes Songshan Cultural and Creative Park a particularly fitting place to explore them.

From Tobacco Factory to Taipei's Creative Playground

Long before Songshan became one of Taipei's favorite creative destinations, the site was an industrial complex — the former Songshan Tobacco Factory.

Today, the old factory buildings have been preserved and transformed into exhibition spaces, creative shops and cultural venues.

The contrast is part of the charm. Walk through the park and you'll find old industrial architecture surrounded by trees and gardens. Inside the buildings, you'll encounter contemporary exhibitions, Taiwanese brands, illustration, art and industrial design.

It's one of the easiest places in Taipei to combine history, architecture and modern Taiwanese creativity in a single afternoon.

And Look Who We Found at the Exhibition

For us at XTRA, however, this visit is a little more special.

Among the award-winning designs on display is a product we know very well:

**XTRA Thermo Boi TT**

Thermo Boi TT received the **Red Dot Design Award**, an international recognition of the design philosophy behind the product.

At first glance, a thermos jug might seem like a very ordinary household object.

And that's exactly what makes designing one interesting.

People have used thermos jugs for generations. The basic purpose hasn't changed very much: keep a beverage at the desired temperature and make it easy to serve.

So how do you redesign something people already understand?

That challenge became part of the thinking behind Thermo Boi TT.

Rather than making a traditional thermos unnecessarily complicated, the design focuses on the relationship between **form, function and everyday use**.

The result is a familiar object interpreted through a more contemporary design language.

Seeing Thermo Boi TT displayed alongside other award-winning designs at Songshan is therefore more than a proud moment for XTRA.

It represents something larger. A product designed in Taiwan can begin with a simple everyday need and eventually find itself recognized on an international design stage.

Make It a Weekend in Songshan

The best part is that you don't need to visit Songshan only for the exhibition.

Make an afternoon out of it.

Walk through the historic factory buildings and old corridors.

Explore the latest exhibitions.

Browse Taiwanese design and creative shops.

Find a café and take a break.

Walk around the gardens and ecological pond.

And if you still have energy afterward, the surrounding Xinyi District gives you plenty more to explore.

Taipei 101 and the city's shopping district are nearby, making Songshan an easy starting point for a relaxed afternoon that can turn into an entire evening in Taipei.

A Different Side of Taipei

**Uni-President Department Store, Xinyi District**

Night markets, temples and Taipei 101 might be the images most visitors associate with Taipei.

But places like Songshan Cultural and Creative Park reveal another side of the city.

Taipei is also a city of designers, engineers, manufacturers, artists and people constantly thinking about how everyday objects can work a little better.

Sometimes those ideas become exhibitions.

Sometimes they become products.

And occasionally, one of those products receives a small red dot.

If you're spending a weekend in Taipei, come to Songshan and take a closer look.

You may discover that some of the most interesting stories about Taiwan aren't found only in museums or historic monuments.

**Sometimes they're sitting quietly on a design pedestal — including a little Thermo Boi from XTRA.**

Exhibition Information

**Taiwan Design 2025-2026 Awarded by Red Dot**

Exhibition Period: August 11 (Tue) to October 4 (Sun), 2026

Opening Hours: 10:00–18:00 (Closed on Mondays)

Exhibition Venue: Taiwan Design Museum, Booths 03 & 04 (Songshan Creative Park, Taipei)